The Texan Scouts | Page 4

hungry
as a bear just come from winter quarters. He felt weak and relaxed after
his long hours in the snow and storm, and he resolved to have warm
food and drink.
There was much fallen wood among the trees, and with his strong
hunting knife he whittled off the bark and thin dry shavings until he
had a fine heap. Working long with flint and steel, he managed to set
fire to the shavings, and then he fed the flames with larger pieces of
wood until he had a great bed of glowing coals. A cautious wilderness
rover, learning always from his tried friends, Ned never rode the plains
without his traveling equipment, and now he drew from his pack a
small tin coffee pot and tiny cup of the same material. Then with quick
and skillful hands he made coffee over the coals and warmed strips of
deer and buffalo meat.
He ate and drank hungrily, while the horse nibbled the grass that grew
within the covert. Glorious warmth came again and the worn feeling
departed. Life, youthful, fresh and abounding, swelled in every vein.
He now put out all the coals carefully, throwing wet leaves upon them,
in order that not a single spark might shine through the trees to be seen
by an enemy upon the plain. He relied upon the horse to give warning
of a possible approach by man, and to keep away wolves.
Then he made his bed upon the rock, doing everything as he had
arranged it in his mind an hour before, and, wrapped in his blankets,
fell into the soundest of sleeps. The south wind still blew steadily,
playing a low musical song among the trees. The beads of water on the
twigs and the few leaves that remained dried fast. The grass dried, too,

and beyond the covert the snow, so quick to come, was equally quick to
go.
The horse ceased to nibble the grass, looked at the sleeping boy,
touched his blankets lightly with his nose, and walked to the other side
of the opening, where he lay down and went to his own horse heaven of
sleep.
It was not many hours until day and Old Jack was a light sleeper. When
he opened his eyes again he saw a clear and beautiful winter day of the
far south. The only clouds in the sky were little drifting bits of fine
white wool, and the warm wind still blew. Old Jack, who was in reality
Young Jack, as his years were not yet four, did not think so much of the
covert now, as he had already eaten away all the grass within the little
opening but his sense of duty was strong. He saw that his human master
and comrade still slept, apparently with no intention of awakening at
any very early date, and he set himself to gleaning stray blades of grass
that might have escaped his notice the night before.
Ned awoke a little after the noon hour, and sprang to his feet in dismay.
The sun was almost directly over his head, showing him how late it was.
He looked at his horse as if to reproach his good comrade for not
waking him sooner, but Old Jack's large mild eyes gave him such a
gaze of benignant unconcern that the boy was ashamed of himself.
"It certainly was not your fault," he said to his horse, "and, after all, it
probably doesn't matter. We've had a long sound sleep and rest, and
I've no doubt that both of us will profit by it. Nothing seems to be left
in here for you to eat, but I'll take a little breakfast myself."
He did not relight the fire, but contented himself with cold food. Then
resaddling, he left the grove and rode northward again until he came to
a hill, or, rather, a swell, that was higher than the rest. Here he stopped
his horse and took a glance at the sun, which was shining with
uncommon brilliancy. Then he produced a small mirror from the
pocket of his hunting shirt and held it in such a position that it made a
focus of the sun's rays, throwing them in a perfect blazing lance of
light.

He turned the flaming lance around the horizon, until it completed the
circle and then he started around with it again. Meantime he was
keeping a close watch upon every high point. A hill rose in the north,
and he looked at it longest, but nothing came from it. There was
another, but lower, hill in the west, and before he had completed the
second round with his glass a light flashed from it. It was a brilliant
light, almost like a sheaf of white incandescent rays. He